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CompletedNCT03151642Updated Apr 26, 2021

A PILOT STUDY OF DIFFUSION WEIGHTED MRI TO ASSESS ESOPHAGEAL TUMOR RESONSE TO NEOADJUVANT CHEMORADIATION

An observational study in Esophageal Cancer, sponsored by Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2021-04-26.

Sponsored by Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
11
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this research study will be to determine the sensitivity and specificity of dwMRI metrics to assess tumor response following neoadjuvant chemoradiation in esophageal cancer. This pilot study will generate the preliminary data needed for the design of a statistically-justified trial that would investigate dwMRI as an integral biomarker to stratify patients for escalated therapy to improve outcomes. We hope to develop dwMRI as a predictive clinical tool for a personalized treatment model that can identify patients who may be candidates for organ-preservation or treatment intensification to improve outcomes in esophageal cancer.

02

Conditions studied

  • Esophageal Cancer
03

In context

Esophageal Neoplasms

1,631 studies on the registry are indexed under Esophageal Neoplasms; 469 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 11 is below the median of 200 across 346 observational studies indexed under Esophageal Neoplasms.

Browse Esophageal Neoplasms studies →

Lead sponsor

Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine is the lead sponsor of 457 studies on the registry; 84 are open to participants now.

Of its 33 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 14 (42%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No
Sampling method
Probability sample

Study population

Patients with a histologic diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus located distal to the carina

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients with a histologic diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus located distal to the carina
  • Patients with AJCC 7th edition clinical stage IIB-IIIC
  • Patients will be treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for this condition
  • Patients must be > 18 years of age
  • Patients must be able to provide informed consent
  • Patients must be surgical candidates
  • Patients must be able to tolerate MR imaging required by protocol

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with primary tumors located above the carina
  • Prior abdominal radiation therapy with fields overlapping the current fields
  • Severe claustrophobia not relieved by oral anxiolytics per institutional standard practice
  • Presence of MRI-incompatible metallic objects or implanted medical devices in the body (including but not limited to: non-MRI compatible metal objects, cardiac pacemaker, aneurysm clips, artificial heart valves with steel parts, metal fragments in the eye or central nervous system)
  • Weight greater than that allowable by the MRI table
05

Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
11 participants (actual)
Patient registry
No

Interventions

  • RadiationChemotherapy

    Patients will have their chemotherapy coordinated through the Medical Oncology department at the University of Pennsylvania, and will be followed by Medical Oncology at Penn during chemoradiation. As part of the standard of care for locally advanced esophageal cancer, neoadjuvant concurrent chemotherapy will likely consist of weekly carboplatin and paclitaxel, beginning within 1 day of starting radiation therapy and continuing until the completion of radiation treatment. Alternative chemotherapy regimens, dose adjustments or delays in administration will be determined at the discretion of the treating medical oncologist and recorded in the patient's chart.

  • RadiationRadiation Therapy

    Patients will have their radiation therapy coordinated and performed through the Radiation Oncology Department at the University of Pennsylvania. The development and delivery of the patient's radiation treatment plan will be at the discretion of the treating radiation oncologist, and details will be recorded in the patient's chart.

  • ProcedureSurgery

    Patients will have their surgery coordinated and performed through Thoracic Surgery department at the University of Pennsylvania. Patients will undergo esophagectomy 4-8 weeks after the completion of neoadjuvant chemoradiation as part of the standard of care.

  • DeviceMRI Imaging

    A total of 40 paired MRI examinations from eligible participants will be collected in the Department of Radiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Participants will undergo two 1.5T MRI studies performed at two time points: (1) within 28 days prior to starting neoadjuvant chemoradiation, and (2) between radiation fraction 8-13 during treatment. The quantitative imaging studies for the trial (DWI) will be performed with and without respiratory gating using a navigator, with B values of 0, 100, 600 and 800 s/mm2.

  • OtherBlood Draws

    The procedure of blood collection for each patient will be as follows: the total amount being drawn each time will be approximately 30 cc. Approximately 25 ml of blood will be collected into heparinized tubes, and immediately placed on ice in a prepared plastic bag and transported to the laboratory for processing within 1 hour. If necessary, we may need up to 2 hours in order to begin processing the blood; in the event that longer than this time period has transpired, the sample will be deemed inadequate for processing purposes. The first blood draw will be obtained prior to the first fraction of radiation treatment and will be coordinated to occur at the time of pre-treatment MRI. Thereafter, the second sample will be obtained during chemoradiation therapy, between fraction 8-13 and the blood draw will be coordinated with the on-treatment MRI scan.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Number of MRIs

    Time frame: 2 years

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Ran from Apr 2017 to primary completion in Aug 2019, 28 months.

Of 125 non-industry observational studies under Esophageal Neoplasms, half reached primary completion within 112 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 41 and three quarters within 318. This study's 28 months is below that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 139 studies reached it within 99 months; a quarter within 41 and three quarters within 318.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
May 10, 2017
First posted
May 12, 2017
StartActual
Apr 5, 2017
Primary completionActual
Aug 23, 2019
CompletionActual
Apr 23, 2021
Last update
Apr 26, 2021
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 26, 2021, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03151642
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 12, 2017
Start date
Apr 5, 2017
Primary completion
Aug 23, 2019
Completion
Apr 23, 2021
Last update
Apr 26, 2021

Study contacts

Edgar Ben-Josef, MD
principal investigator · Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Apr 2021. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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